Conflict, Struggle, And Rebirth: A Study On The Theme Of "Father And Son" In Call It Sleep

The ever-increasing interest in Call It Sleep throughout the1960s and1970scoincided with a boom in ethnic studies, with the ideological shift from the meltingpot to what we have come to call multiculturalism in which the most heatedlydiscussed is the “Father and Son” theme, especially in American Jewish literature. Itis formed and developed from the Old Testament since Genesis and laid its deepfoundation in the Jewish people s living experience and the drifting history since thediaspora. When millions of Jews immigrated to the United States,“Father and Son”theme, which derived from the “father-son” cultural motif, blooms immediatelyalong with the American Jewish literature and presents its enduring vitality eversince then. To study the “Father and Son” theme in literature can reveal importantaspects of American Jewish immigrant culture for us. But unfortunately, few scholarshave done this before.Henry Roth s rendering of the father-son relationship in Call It Sleep issignificant not only on the surface, where it vividly portrays the strains of immigrantlife, but also on a symbolic level, where it typifies the Jew s relationship with theiroften vengeful God which is in highly accordance with the Jewish biblical origin andhistorical origin, furthermore, the “Father and Son” in Call It Sleep is unique amongothers in its reconciliation with the rebirth of both the father and the son as well astheir relationship in the spiritual and the moral aspects.This thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter one is the introduction aboutHenry Roth and his masterpiece Call It Sleep, the relevant studies and the structureof this thesis. Chapter two is composed of three parts, first the presentation of“father-son” motif in its Jewish biblical origin and historical, including the detaileddescription of how this motif is generated, developed and reinforced with its historyand drifting experience of Jews; second, how the “father-son” motif was generatedinto the “father and son” theme which was applied with the ways of presentation anddevelopment into the American Jewish literature, third, the nature of creation andHenry Roth s Father complex. Chapter three takes the main proportion of this thesiswith the analysis of “Father and Son” theme in Call It Sleep. It begins with theconflict between father Albert and his son David which is embedded into the fight of authority and anti-authority as well as maintaining tradition and being eager to beassimilated. Then it comes the struggle of both father and son in the New World, theUnited States of America. Of course, they must struggle for survival and identity ingreat pain. The last is the rebirth of “father and son” and their relationship. Therebirth is also the most distinctive characteristic differing from other Jewish novels.It finds out that the conflict can be eliminated by both “father and son” s struggleand sacrifice. There might be a reconciliation to their antagonism. Chapter fourconcludes the main points of this thesis as well as its limitations and hints for furtherstudy.